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Mickey Kaus

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Mickey Kaus
Kaus in 2009
Born
Robert Michael Kaus[1]

(1951-07-06)July 6, 1951(age 73)
Santa Monica, California,U.S.
Other names"Mickey" Kaus
EducationHarvard University(BA,JD)
Occupation(s)author, journalist, blogger
Notable credit(s)noted blogger; author of several books; on-air personality for several audio and video media outlets; published journalist forNewsweek,The New RepublicandWashington Monthly,among other places
RelativesStephen Kaus,brother
Websitehttp:// kausfiles

Robert Michael "Mickey" Kaus(/ˈkaʊs/;born July 6, 1951) is an American journalist,pundit,and author, known for writingKausfiles,a "mostly political" blog which was featured onSlateuntil 2010.[2]Kaus is the author ofThe End of Equality[3]and had previously worked as a journalist forNewsweek,The New Republic,andWashington Monthly,among other publications.[4]

Personal life[edit]

Kaus was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Peggy A. (Huttenback), a civic activist, andOtto Kaus,aDemocratandCalifornia Supreme CourtAssociate Justice.[5][6]His brother,Stephen Kaus,is a California Superior Court judge[7]and occasional commentator onThe Huffington Post.[8]His paternal grandmother was novelist and screenwriterGina Kaus.His father was born in Vienna, Austria, and his mother was born in Germany and raised in England. His parents were both from Jewish families.[9][10][11]Kaus attendedHarvard CollegeandHarvard Law Schoolbut has never practiced law. He currently resides inVenice Beach,California.

Kausfiles[edit]

Kaus first wroteSlate's "Chatterbox" column in 1997 but started Kausfiles in 1999 as a private blog.[12]In 2002, he returned to Slate[13]at the invitation of editorMichael Kinsley.During 2003, the daily readership of Kausfiles varied between 15,000 and 30,000.

Stylistically the blog was most notable for itsinterior monologuesincluding the ruse of a non-existent editor, as well as frequent, ironic exclamation points. Media criticJames Wolcott,in his bookAttack Poodles and Other Media Mutants,used Kaus as thearchetypalexample of a type ofpundithe labels "counterintuitives". This type of pundit goes out of his way to stake out positions which run counter to conventional wisdom.

During the2003 California recall,Kausfiles uncovered an interview withArnold SchwarzeneggerbyOuimagazine in which he boasted of participating in group sex.[14]This post sparked a series of claims of sexual misconduct during Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding and acting career. Kaus later posted about a 1981Today Showappearance where Schwarzenegger claimed that he deliberately damaged chimneys in order to boost demand for his bricklaying business, which was another scoop.

During the2004 U.S. presidential election,the blog displayed a strong and consistent distaste forJohn Kerry,despite the fact that Kaus endorsed Kerry and contributed to his campaign.[15]Kausfiles has also consistently criticized theLos Angeles Times,Santa Monicaradio stationKCRW,media criticHoward Kurtz,andCNNPresidentJonathan Klein.

In 2007, Kaus reported from an anonymous source that candidateJohn Edwardswas having an affair with documentarianRielle Hunter.[16]Edwards and Hunter both publicly denied this, and Kaus was widely criticized for what amounted to an assumption of guilt.[17]The affair later proved to be true.

The blog also commented on theautomotive industryand Kaus irregularly filed automotive-centric "Gearbox" columns onSlate.[18]

As a result of his 2010 run for the Senate, Kaus leftSlate[19]and hosted his blog on his campaign website. On September 20, 2010, the Kausfiles blog was relaunched atNewsweek.[20]Kaus was fired from Newsweek and later blogged atThe Daily Caller.

Resignation fromThe Daily Caller[edit]

In March 2015, Kaus quitThe Daily Callerafter its editor,Tucker Carlsonrefused to run a column by Kaus that was critical ofFox Newscoverage of the immigration policy debate. Carlson, who also worked for Fox, reportedly did not want the Caller publishing criticism of a firm that employed him.[21]

Political views[edit]

External videos
video iconBooknotesinterview with Kaus onThe End of Equality,August 23, 1992,C-SPAN
Kaus debatingAnn Coulterat the 2014Conservative Political Action Conference(CPAC) in March 2014.

Kaus was an influential proponent ofwelfare reformin the 1980s, and is a fierce critic of bothlabor unions(particularly automotive workers' unions and teachers' unions) and low-skilled immigration (he supports the2010 Arizona anti-illegal-immigration law,calling to wait to see the law's practical effects before overturning it).[22][23]

Kaus' constant criticisms ofliberalismhave led liberals[24](including hisBloggingheads.tvsparring partnerRobert Wright)and conservatives to see him as aright-winger.He has been criticized for his persistent defense of his friendAnn Coulterfrom many liberal critics.[25][26][27]

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Kaus endorsedHillary Clintonfor president, while criticizing other Democrats includingBarack Obama.In the2006 U.S. Midterm ElectionsKaus wrote that he hoped the Democrats would fail to take over theU.S. House of Representativesbut take the Senate. He called the election "perverse" because he saw a Democratic victory as not impedingGeorge W. Bush's Iraq policy but helping his immigration policy. Nevertheless, Kaus declared he still voted for DemocratJane Harman.[28]

In 2020, he stated that he had voted for Trump in 2016, but would prefer a more electable Trumpist[5] Kaus is generally moderate on foreign policy (he is notably dovish on issues pertaining to the Middle East).[29]

Radio[edit]

Kaus has also contributed to radio, making occasional contributions to the Slate/NPRshowDay to Day.[30]

Bloggingheads.tv[edit]

Kaus andRobert Wrightcomparing stuffedmoosevisual aids onBloggingheads.tv.

On November 1, 2005, Kaus and journalistRobert WrightlaunchedBloggingHeads.tv,a video weblog dialog ordia-vlogfocusing on mostly-political current events.[31]Initially Kaus and Wright were the regular participants. Eventually Wright recruited many other bloggers, journalists and scholars to take part, discussing the headlines and latest developments and making predictions. Wright, who bought out Kaus in the early days of the site, still appears often with various guests. By contrast, Kaus's appearances became increasingly infrequent. In 2020, Kaus once again became a weekly guest on Wright's show. Their conversations now include a bonus segment called "The Parrot Room" which is only available to patrons of the show.

To exploit the visual side of the medium, Kaus sometimes uses visual aids such as anAl Goremask and a stuffed moose. According to Kaus[32]"Deploying the moose" symbolizesPinch Sulzberger's idea of "the unaddressed important issue" similar to the "elephant in the room."

In an episode recorded February 8, 2006, Kaus said[33]"half the Democrats are going to vote for McCain and I'm going to be one of them." Kaus linked[34]to his own statement in a February 10, 2008 blog post with the words, "I can't believe I said this."

2010 senate run[edit]

According to a March 1, 2010 report inLA Weekly,Kaus took out papers to run for the United States Senate.[35]Kaus ran as a "Common Sense Democrat," stating that he did not expect to win, but hoped to raise issues.[36]

In a March 2, 2010 entry on Kausfiles, Kaus announced that he had taken out nomination papers to run in the Senate primary for California againstBarbara Boxer.

Kaus finished a distant third in the June 8, 2010 Democratic primary election, with 5.3%[37]of the total vote (or 94,298 votes). Political unknown Brian Quintana took second with 14.2%, while incumbentBarbara Boxersecured 80.5%, ensuring that she would continue on to the general election.

References[edit]

  1. ^"State Bar of CA:: Robert Michael Kaus".Members.calbar.ca.gov. December 22, 1976.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  2. ^Feeney, Matt."Kausfiles".Slate.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  3. ^Kaus, Mickey (April 21, 1995).The end of equality – Mickey Kaus – Google Books.Basic Books.ISBN9780465098293.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  4. ^"kaus files dot com | masthead".Kausfiles. December 10, 1994.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  5. ^[1]ArchivedDecember 4, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  6. ^"Court is feeling the heat on Prop. 8 – Los Angeles Times".Los Angeles Times.November 19, 2008.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  7. ^"San Francisco Attorney: Stephen Kaus".Cwclaw. Archived fromthe originalon October 5, 2011.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  8. ^"Stephen Kaus".Huffington Post.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  9. ^"Mickey Kaus on How Unions Killed the Democrats, Immigration, New Media, & Bringing the Velvet Underground to Beverly Hills High".June 4, 2010.
  10. ^"Peggy Kaus Obituary - Beverly Hills, CA | Los Angeles Times".Legacy.
  11. ^"Dorothy Huttenback, Force Behind Music Guild, Dies".Los Angeles Times.April 11, 1987.
  12. ^[2]ArchivedJuly 9, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  13. ^Kaus, Mickey (April 10, 2014)."Mickey Kaus' Favorite Slate Story".Slate.
  14. ^"A raunchy interview bedevils Schwarzenegger / 1977 chat includes blunt talk on drugs, sex".San Francisco Chronicle.August 29, 2003.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  15. ^Neoliberal Education[permanent dead link].Washington Monthly.Ezra Klein.May 2007.
  16. ^Rosenbaum, Ron (October 15, 2007)."Edwards walks the line. – Slate Magazine".Slate.Slate.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  17. ^"The Epistemology of Kausfiles – Matthew Yglesias – Politics".The Atlantic. October 14, 2007.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  18. ^Rosenbaum, Ron."Homepage – Slate Magazine".Slate.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  19. ^"Kausfiles is out there. Somewhere".Archived fromthe originalon March 22, 2010.RetrievedMarch 18,2010.
  20. ^Mickey Kaus (September 20, 2010)."Get Me More Sarah Palin! – The Daily Beast".Newsweek.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  21. ^Byers, Dylan (March 17, 2015)."Mickey Kaus quits Daily Caller after Tucker Carlson pulls critical Fox News column".POLITICO.
  22. ^Nick Gillespie from the August–September 2010 issue (July 19, 2010)."Unions 'Own the Democratic Party' – Reason Magazine".Reason.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^[3]ArchivedJuly 26, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  24. ^""Brokeback Mountain" p. 3 ".Ejumpcut.org. February 22, 1999.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  25. ^Lloyd Grove (April 6, 2010)."Can This Blogger Unseat Barbara Boxer?".The Daily Beast.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  26. ^"The war against Mickey Kaus".Archived fromthe originalon July 30, 2010.RetrievedOctober 23,2010.
  27. ^"Kaus and Coulter: What Gives? – The Daily Dish – The Atlantic".Andrewsullivan.theatlantic. March 4, 2007.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  28. ^[4]ArchivedFebruary 8, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  29. ^Rosenbaum, Ron (February 14, 2003)."The Likudnik Factor – Slate Magazine".Slate.Slate.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  30. ^NPR Online."Day to Day and Slate Magazine".NPR.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  31. ^"about".Bloggingheads.tv. November 1, 2005.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  32. ^"Bloggingheads.tv".Archived fromthe originalon February 13, 2006.RetrievedFebruary 25,2006.
  33. ^"The Battle of Britney!".Bloggingheads.tv.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  34. ^Rosenbaum, Ron (February 26, 2008)."McCain's Univision connection. – Slate Magazine".Slate.Slate.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  35. ^Romero, Dennis (March 1, 2010)."CORRECTED: Mickey Kaus Takes Out Papers For U.S. Senate Run – Los Angeles News – The Informer".Blogs.laweekly. Archived fromthe originalon June 9, 2010.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  36. ^Solomon, Deborah (March 11, 2010)."The Blogging of the Candidate".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
  37. ^"Election Results - June 8, 2010".Archived fromthe originalon June 9, 2010.RetrievedJune 9,2010.

External links[edit]

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